Personally, I'd look at the Optima or Fusion in that class for the good performance/reliability/mileage packages they offer. Mazda 6 is fun but not as equipped for the price, and every other car it seems is an Altima. I simply dont like the looks of Sonata. All are good cars, though. A Jetta wasn't on my radar after a good 3 months of serious research.

I was also looking into lowering my cost of ownership, yet ended up trading my 09 Maxima SV for a '12.

Man now that I've started paying attention you're right. Every third car is a Nissan Altima. The other two are Honda and Toyota. Of course I'm in California so that might have something to do with it, but jeesh...

Man now that I've started paying attention you're right. Every third car is a Nissan Altima. The other two are Honda and Toyota. Of course I'm in California so that might have something to do with it, but jeesh...

What about the Tourig? Anybody know anything about it?

The Touareg is really nice. I want one. However the cost of ownership is up there also. Tires and brakes are ridiculous. But it is one sweet ride, particularly with the diesel. If you want a SUV... take a looksee at the CRV and RAV4. The new Escape isn't all that bad either.

The Touareg is really nice. I want one. However the cost of ownership is up there also. Tires and brakes are ridiculous. But it is one sweet ride, particularly with the diesel. If you want a SUV... take a looksee at the CRV and RAV4. The new Escape isn't all that bad either.

Yeah, and it drinks high octane too - but me likey for sure. I've looked at the others you mentioned too. Frankly I've been in a big SUV for years (Jeep Grand Cherokee) that the soon-to-be-ex will be keeping and I want something smaller. That's why I started looking at the Passat and the Jetta etc.

But I saw that Tourig and Touareg or whatever it's called and I really like it.